NEWS FRONT
> FORD’S FLAGSHIP RANGER IS ABOUT TO GET WHAT IT ALWAYS DESERVED: V8 GRUNT
WE’VE been fortunate enough to nab the keys to a number of Ranger Raptors in the past couple of years, and we can confirm they’re beaut things. The flagship model of one of the bestselling utes on the market has the looks and off-road ability expected of the Raptor nameplate, but there’s always been one major problem with it: guts.
While Ford Australia went to town redesigning the Ranger for Raptor duty, with chassis upgrades, raised suspension, Fox Racing shocks, a specific Baja off-roading mode, bigger wheels and tyres, and d even a mean widebody, they neglected to b bump up the power. The Raptor got stuck with the same 210hp, twin-turbo 2.0L diesel fourbanger and 10-speed auto that the rest of the Ranger utes are slung with. While that may be fine for commuting to the local building site, it doesn’t exactly live up to the Raptor reputation we’ve come to expect from its beefy US cousins.
Thankfully, it seems prayers for more grunt have finally been answered. Our sister publication, Wheels magazine, broke the news that Raptors will soon be available with the stonking 5.0L, 454hp Coyote V8 from the h current-gen M Mustang. Gi Given M Mustangs are already running a similar 10-speed auto to that fitted to the Raptor’s diesel donk, we expect engineering efforts will be focused mainly in the engine bay.
The Raptors will be available through Ford dealers, but Ford itself won’t be undertaking the conversions. Instead, a local engineering firm will handle the job, but exactly which one is unconfirmed. Tickford, Premcar or perhaps even HSV?
Word on the street is that it won’t be Herrod Performance, which has started to
buildbuild special-edition R-spec Mustangs inside Ford’s F d’ old ld Broadmeadows B d d assembly bl plant. l Under Ford’s supervision, the Herrod team are taking 500 lucky Mustang GTS and converting them into 500kw supercharged monsters, to also be sold through local Ford dealers with full warranty.
The price tag on the V8 Raptor is still up in the air, but with current Raptor pricing starting at $75K, the V8 version is tipped to hit six figures. No release date has been shared either, but the Wheels guys are expecting a late 2020 birth for the V8 Raptor. With pricing of that level, it’ll more than likely have to battle it out with the hugely successful Hemi-powered Dodge Ram and dh the ib inbound d Ch Chevy 1500 Sil Silverdo d f for the h well-heeled tradie dollar.
While Holden has been struggling to keep itself afloat after the end of local manufacturing – and has finally been forced to put the Commodore to rest – Ford hasn’t turned its back on the performance hunger of the Aussie car enthusiast. With locally engineered supercharged Mustangs in the build, as well as V8 Raptor utes brewing to plug the hole left by the extinct HSV Maloo and FPV performance utes, there could still be hope on the horizon for the Australian performance car industry.